MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Saturday, 26 July 2025 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Friday, 25 July): BRATISLAVA – Westinghouse Electric Company has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Slovak state-owned company Water Management Construction (Vodohospodarska vystavba – VV) to assess the feasibility of building the first European commercial pumped thermal energy storage (PTES) system in Slovakia. The signing ceremony took place in Washington, attended by Slovak Environment Minister Tomas Taraba (nominee of the Slovak National Party) and VV General Director Peter Molda, Westinghouse announced on Friday. „The modernisation of European and Slovak industry is massively increasing electricity consumption. If Slovakia wants to succeed in attracting new investments in the artificial intelligence sector, it must have sufficient and stable energy capacities. This new investment addresses both of these challenges and positions us among the global leaders in the safe and efficient use of energy,” said Minister Taraba. The proposed project would provide a gigawatt-scale long-duration energy storage system to store surplus electricity produced by VV-operated hydropower plants and deliver it to consumers when needed. The innovative solution, designed to store energy for durations ranging from eight hours to several days, will enable more flexible use of renewable energy sources in Slovakia, strengthen the country’s grid stability and resilience, and improve the alignment of energy production with demand, the company stated. The agreement outlines a two-month preliminary study to analyse the economic and environmental feasibility of the project, and provides a framework for a 12-month initial engineering and design phase to determine the system configuration. The Westinghouse PTES system is scheduled to be operational by 2030 and will rely on local suppliers. „This is a huge opportunity for us to become one of the most efficient European organisations capable of maximising the use of electricity generated by hydropower plants – whether on the Danube, Vah or Orava,” added VV General Director Molda. BRATISLAVA – Opposition party Progressive Slovakia has filed a complaint with the Public Procurement Office (UVO) regarding the public procurement process carried out by state-funded agency Slovakia Travel for the Expo 2025–2026 project. MP Richard Dubovicky (PS) announced on Friday. "The state must investigate the questionable procedure used by Slovakia Travel in the Expo 2025–2026 contract. That's why we've filed a formal complaint with the Public Procurement Office today. The problem lies in the failure to publish the tender evaluation record, the lack of information on the bids submitted and the winning price. This conduct directly violates the Public Procurement Act and raises serious concerns about the transparency of the entire process. I expect UVO to review the complaint and take any necessary action,” said Dubovicky. Progressive Slovakia has previously criticised Slovakia Travel's work and the procurement process for the Slovak pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan. They highlighted what they viewed as excessive costs and a lack of transparency. In early July, Dubovicky requested that the Supreme Audit Office (NKU) should examine the financial management of Slovakia Travel, pointing to serious doubts regarding whether public funds were being used effectively, purposefully and efficiently. According to Slovakia Travel, the contract for Slovakia's participation in trade fairs and exhibitions for 2025–2026 was duly signed and published in the Central Register of Contracts on 11 July 2025. Zuzana Eliasova, head of communications at Slovakia Travel, stated that the contract was made public in line with transparency rules and that other documents are currently being finalised and will be added as soon as possible. Slovakia Travel also noted that a formal tender was held and evaluated under the previous management. Eliasova said that the winning bid met all legal requirements and criteria and that the selection process was properly documented and will be published in accordance with the law. "Slovakia’s participation in international trade fairs and exhibitions is an important tool for promoting the country abroad. Slovakia Travel will continue to act openly, professionally and in accordance with the law in support of tourism development and public trust," stated Eliasova. She added that MP Dubovicky was repeatedly invited to participate in a professional discussion but didn't take up the opportunity. "In this context, we perceive his current statements more as an attempt at political visibility than genuine interest in a factual debate," said Eliasova. BRATISLAVA – Slovakia, along with Austria, is accumulating debt at the fastest rate in the European Union (EU), and although Finance Minister Ladislav Kamenicky (Smer-SD) claims that fiscal consolidation could slow Slovakia's debt growth and potentially halt it by the end of the current government"s term, the opposition Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) warned on Friday that all indicators suggest the debt spiral will continue. The country’s public debt rose by 3.5 percent of GDP – more than €5 billion – in the first quarter of this year when compared to the final quarter of 2024, The party pointed out that the government had planned to collect an additional three-quarters of a billion euros this year through higher VAT rates, but it may end up collecting only a third of that amount. "It is becoming clear that the government cannot collect the taxes that it has on paper. We've been repeating this since the Robert Fico government took office, especially since last September when it introduced an unacceptable version of the current consolidation package," stated the Christian Democrats. According to the party, this development will lead to the need for further consolidation measures, which will ultimately be borne by ordinary citizens. The Council for Budget Responsibility (RRZ) estimates that new measures worth 2 billion euros will be needed next year, with similar steps expected to continue until the end of the government's term. "Minister Kamenicky, when will you step forward publicly, admit your failure, and present corrective measures? You promised proposals would come in the spring. We"re now in the middle of summer and still nothing. If you continue governing as you have, Slovakia’s gross debt will continue to rise sharply and, according to RRZ, will exceed €100 billion for the first time in the country’s history during the standard election year of 2027,” said MP Jozef Hajko, the Christian Democrats' economic expert. He described this trajectory as a "clear path to bankruptcy", with severe consequences for ordinary citizens and their living standards. The party reiterated its call for the government to cut its own spending and stop wasting money. "We also expect the government to start collecting taxes properly and, last but not least, to adopt measures that will stimulate investment and economic activity in Slovakia; measures that we presented to the government a year ago," added the Christian Democrats. BRATISLAVA - President Peter Pellegrini is addressing the issue of his housing in cooperation with the Interior Ministry's Office for Protection of Constitutional Officials and Diplomatic Missions, the President Office's communications department has told TASR, adding that the condition of the presidential villa in the Slavin area in Bratislava is unsuitable. Pellegrini isn't planning to move into the villa at Slavin at the moment. "Its condition is absolutely unsuitable and the President's Office has no money to repair it," said the communications department. The residence at Slavin has stood empty for a long time and is falling into disrepair. The former headquarters of the supervisory board of the Eastern Slovak Steelworks (VSZ) with a large plot of land was purchased by the President's Office in 2001 for 36 million crowns. It served the state for only 3.5 years, during president Rudolf Schuster's term in office. The issue of using the villa was raised again during Andrej Kiska's term. According to the Interior Ministry, the villa is currently unusable from the security and technical viewpoints. The president, House chair and premier became entitled to state-provided housing after the adoption of the Lex Assassination Attempt in connection with the assassination attempt on Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) in May of last year. The Interior Ministry is in charge of seeking real estate for housing the top constitutional officials. mf